Chapter 5

The plane prepared to land at its destination—South Grinwell. This was a seaside city that I had always looked forward to seeing but had never visited. There was no Gerald or Sheryl here, and none of the suffocating rumors and gossip. I stared out the window, watching as the plane cut through the clouds. Suddenly, I recalled that stormy night six years ago when Gerald had stood soaking wet outside my house, confessing, "Harriet, be with me. I swear I'll give you a good life." … When I turned my phone on, I saw 17 unread messages. The latest one was from five minutes ago. "Harriet, I'm in front of the city hall right now. When will you get here?" I stared at the screen, and a laugh escaped me. How ironic. I had begged him for 27 days, and all that got me was him saying—"I'll marry you in three days." And now that the three days were up, I didn't even have the strength left to expose his lies. My fingers traced that familiar number in my contact list. Our chats over the past s